Radish Sandwiches with Ramp Butter

This gorgeous recipe is from Lynn Crawford’s Farm to Chef Cook Book. It’s no secret my passion is cooking and what happens is my loved ones buy me cookbooks….truth be told, I have a graveyard of cookbooks. There are a few exceptions, and this is one of them. I adore this book and have it proudly displayed in my farm store. I love that it is Canadian farmers that she visits and then creates recipes by the growing season. Brilliant. My dear friend Grace from Grayhurst Farm in Parkhill, ON is the one who introduced me to this book.

As with other garden veggies, when your radishes come on…you have an abundance of them. So I was inspired by this recipe to use them differently. DELISH.

INGREDIENTS:

Ramp Butter

Makes about 2 cups (500 mL)

½ pound (225 g) ramps, bulbs removed (about 20 ramps)
1 pound (450 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons (10 mL) honey

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Radish Sandwiches

1 baguette, cut in half horizontally
2 cloves garlic, cut in half
2 tablespoons (30 mL) olive oil
12 radishes, very thinly sliced
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Basil seedlings or leaves, for garnish
Maldon sea salt and cracked black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make the Ramp Butter

1. Blanch ramps in boiling salted water for 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Spread ramps on a paper towel and pat dry.

2. Coarsely chop ramps and place them in a food processor along with the butter, honey lemon zest, and juice. Process until butter is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

Assemble the Radish Sandwiches

3. Set oven to broil or preheat a grill to medium-high heat.

4. Rub the cut sides of baguette with garlic cloves and brush lightly with olive oil. Lightly toast under a hot broiler or on a hot grill.

5. Toss radishes with salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Spread Ramp Butter on each half of the baguette. Top the bottom half of the baguette with radish slices and basil; season with sea salt and pepper. Top with the other half of the baguette, cut on the diagonal into small sandwiches, and serve.